Telephone companies around the world are realizing that it is possible to include existing twisted-pair loops in their next generation broadband access networks. Hybrid Fiber Coaxial (HFC), which is well suited to analog and digital broadcast, is proving to be less than ideal for carrying voice telephony, interactive video and high-speed data communications at the same time. Fiber To The Home (FTTH) is still prohibitively expensive in a marketplace that is driven by competition rather than cost. An alternative, which is now commercially practical, is a combination of fiber cables feeding neighborhood Optical Network Units (ONUs) with final leg connections through existing twisted copper pairs used for providing telephone service. This network topology is commonly referred to as Fiber to the Neighborhood (FTTN). It uses fiber optic cable to deliver broadband services to distribution points in high-density neighborhoods or Multiple Dwelling Units (MDU), such as apartment buildings, condominiums and the like.
One of the enabling technologies for FTTN is Very high rate Digital Subscriber Line (VDSL). VDSL transmits high-speed data over short reaches of twisted copper pair telephone loops at downstream rates of up to 53 megabits per second over short loops, with slower speeds over longer loops. Upstream rates are slower but up to 19 megabits per second on short loops can be achieved. The data channels on VDSL are separated in frequency from bands used for Plain Old Telephone Services (POTS) and Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN). This enables service providers to overlay VDSL on existing telephone services. Consequently, converged service offerings that permit television, high-speed Internet, and telephone services to be offered concurrently over the same twisted pair are now available. As is well understood, the delivery of such services requires complex interworking of different service provider networks. Converged services are therefore complicated to provision and provisioning can contribute significantly to start-up costs.
The provisioning of broadband services to customers has long been recognized as an area in which competitive advantage can be gained, provided the process can be at least partially automated. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,903,372, which issued on May 11, 1999 to Czerwiec, describes an Optical Network Unit (ONU) for installation in the neighborhood of primary and secondary video service subscribers. The ONU includes a switch matrix card for installation in the ONU with connections to POTS cards for a number of primary subscribers over a corresponding number of twisted pair copper loops. Twisted pair copper loops are also adapted to permit switch connection to switchable video cards. The switchable video cards permit video services to be enabled and disabled using a remote control work station without the dispatch of a service technician. While this invention has merit, it does not address service provisioning and service assurance.
The problems associated with the provisioning of telecommunications services remain, as do the problems associated with telecommunications service assurance. There therefore exists a need for a method and system that facilitates telecommunications service provisioning and service assurance in order to reduce start-up costs and ensure customer satisfaction by providing telecommunications services that are rapidly and reliably enabled on a promised installation date, and consistently and efficiently maintained on a continuing basis.